Sharks at Sabres preview

SHARKS (4-5-0) at SABRES (3-6-2)
1 p.m. ET; SN, MSG-B, NBCSCA, NHL.TV

Thornton, 38, has 1,398 career points (386 goals, 1,012 assists) and is tied with Jari Kurri on the list. Thornton has six points (two goals, four assists) in a five-game point streak for San Jose, which is 2-2-0 entering the finale of its five-game, nine-day road trip.

The Sabres, 2-1-0 in their past three games after beginning the season 1-5-2, hope for improvement on their power play; they rank 27th in the NHL on the man advantage (13.5 percent) and have allowed a League-high six shorthanded goals.

Players to watch

Sharks center Logan Couture has nine points (six goals, three assists) in his past five games after having one goal in his first four games this season.
Sabres forward Evander Kane has one goal in his past four games after having 10 points (five goals, five assists) in the first seven games of the season.

They said it

"Our game's been in a good spot. We're in every game, we're playing well, we're getting back to what we do well, and it's just tough when you lose like that [2-1 at the Boston Bruins on Thursday], but the other team's got a vote, too. They're pretty good." -- Sharks defenseman Brent Burns
"We've got to take what the game gives us. If we've got some odd-man rushes, we're going to have to try and execute off of them. That doesn't mean we get away from our defending part of our game and the decisions and the choices we make." -- Sabres coach Phil Housley

Sharks projected lineup

Joonas Donskoi -- Joe Thornton -- Joe Pavelski
Melker Karlsson -- Logan Couture -- Tomas Hertl
Mikkel Boedker -- Chris Tierney -- Kevin Labanc
Timo Meier -- Ryan Carpenter -- Joel Ward
Joakim Ryan -- Brent Burns
Marc-Edouard Vlasic -- Justin Braun
Brenden Dillon -- Tim Heed
Martin Jones
Aaron Dell
Scratched: Barclay Goodrow, Jannik Hansen, Dylan DeMelo
Injured:Paul Martin (ankle)

Sabres projected lineup

Evander Kane -- Jack Eichel -- Jason Pominville
Benoit Pouliot -- Ryan O'Reilly -- Kyle Okposo
Zemgus Girgensons -- Sam Reinhart -- Justin Bailey
Jordan Nolan -- Johan Larsson -- Matt Moulson
Marco Scandella -- Rasmus Ristolainen
Jake McCabe -- Matt Tennyson
Victor Antipin -- Zach Redmond
Robin Lehner
Chad Johnson
Scratched: Seth Griffith, Taylor Fedun
Injured: Nathan Beaulieu (upper body), Josh Gorges (lower body), Jacob Josefson (lower body), Zach Bogosian (lower body), Evan Rodrigues (hand), Justin Falk (undisclosed)

Status report

The Sharks held an optional practice on Friday; nine skaters and Dell participated. … Falk is close to returning for the Sabres and Housley said he'll have a better idea if he's game-ready on Saturday.

Stat pack

Eichel has no points in his past two games after having eight points (three goals, five assists) in his previous six games. … The Sabres do not have a goal from a defenseman this season.